Activists rally to support ex-Marine Andrew Tahmooressi jailed in Mexico

Miami-Dade activists sympathetic to a nationally publicized cause continue to rally support in behalf of ex-U.S. Marine Andrew Tahmooressi before his next court appearance in Mexico. Tahmooressi, son of Paul and Jill Tahmooressi of Weston in Broward County, both of whom are employed in Coral Gables, has been jailed since Mar. 31 after claiming he accidentally made a wrong turn at a U.S. border entry point, placing his vehicle on Mexican soil. At that time, Tahmooressi said he was traveling to California to seek diagnosis and treatment for battle-induced PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) following two tours of service in Afghanistan. Arrested for possession of three firearms — including an AR-15 rifle, a vintage Colt .45 pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun, clips and ammunition — Tahmooressi claimed he made a wrong turn and was detained for investigation by Mexican authorities who brought him before a court in which procedures have consumed nearly five months. During a June sidewalk rally on US 1 in Palmetto Bay to help raise legal funds and protest Tahmooressi’s incarceration, District 8 Commissioner Lynda Bell lent support to the cause along with Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall, a District 26 Congressional candidate in the Aug. 26 Republican primary, and Broward GOP Congressional candidate Joe Kaufman of Weston. “The costs for his legal defense are staggering,” said Jane Walker of West Kendall who met Tahmooressi’s mother through Olivia Hammar, a Palmetto Bay mother whose son was jailed in Mexico in 2012 and has helped take up the cause for Tahmooressi. “While anti-gun rights people and left wing activists have tried to discredit his story, he has been wronged by Mexico and he does not deserve the treatment he is getting,” Walker stated.

Not sure which news site first started calling his Colt.45 "vintage". But that is false. It was brand new. It's a COLT 1911 which is the military model# designation, which also coincides with the year it was introduced. Probably how this little bit of misinformation was spread.